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CPD for clinical support roles: I undertake medico-legal work

I undertake medico-legal work Medical Expert, Professional

Key areas to consider in in planning your CPD for your medicolegal work include:

  • Expertise in a specific field and maintaining currency
  • Credentials: relevant qualifications, certifications and memberships of professional bodies related to your field
  • Legal understanding: processes, terminology and standards relevant to the jurisdiction where you’ll provide testimony or reports
  • Communication skills, especially explaining complex medical/technical information in lay terms for judges, lawyers and juries
  • Impartiality and understanding own biases
  • Report writing: detailed, accurate and well-structured to withstand legal scrutiny
  • Courtroom experience: familiarity with procedures, confidence in presenting

Practice evaluation (category 1)

  • Facilitate or participate in an analysing healthcare outcomes (AHO) activity with a small group of colleagues on published reports relevant to your medico-legal work. Topic examples are in the AHO guideline.
  • Undertake a critical reflection on your medico-legal work and develop a plan for practice change. Potential topics for reflection include any areas for development in the key areasExpertise in a specific field and maintaining currency; Credentials: relevant qualifications, certifications and memberships of professional bodies related to your field; Legal understanding: processes, terminology and standards relevant to the jurisdiction where you’ll provide testimony or reports; Communication skills, especially explaining complex medical/technical information in lay terms for judges, lawyers and juries; Impartiality and understanding own biases; Report writing: detailed, accurate and well-structured to withstand legal scrutiny; Courtroom experience: familiarity with procedures, confidence in presenting.
  • Participate in a cultural safety activitySee the Support across work roles > Providing a culturally safe practice tab for more information with a view to better understanding cultural safety and implications for medico-legal practice. Following this activity, consider undertaking a critical reflection on what you have learnt and what it means for your practice.
  • Prepare medico-legal reports and/or act as an expert witness and claim time under medico-legal reports.
  • Formally engage with a mentor to support your professional goals for your medico-legal practice and claim hours spent doing so under the mentoring activity. Consider seeking guidance from an experienced medico-legal professional.
  • Participate in a peer support group of self-selected peers with expertise and interest in medico-legal work or the specific field in which you provide medico-legal advice/reports. Potential areas of focus for the group are listed under key areasExpertise in a specific field and maintaining currency; Credentials: relevant qualifications, certifications and memberships of professional bodies related to your field; Legal understanding: processes, terminology and standards relevant to the jurisdiction where you’ll provide testimony or reports; Communication skills, especially explaining complex medical/technical information in lay terms for judges, lawyers and juries; Impartiality and understanding own biases; Report writing: detailed, accurate and well-structured to withstand legal scrutiny; Courtroom experience: familiarity with procedures, confidence in presenting. See the resources section to support selection of peer support group discussion topics.

Knowledge & skills (category 2)

  • Undertake a formal qualification relevant to your medico-legal work and claim time spent doing this under formal courses.
  • Read peer-reviewed journals relevant to your practice and claim this as journal reading.
  • Attend face-to-face or virtual learning sessions relevant to your practice (for example: conferences, podcasts, webinars; see key areas to considerExpertise in a specific field and maintaining currency; Credentials: relevant qualifications, certifications and memberships of professional bodies related to your field; Legal understanding: processes, terminology and standards relevant to the jurisdiction where you’ll provide testimony or reports; Communication skills, especially explaining complex medical/technical information in lay terms for judges, lawyers and juries; Impartiality and understanding own biases; Report writing: detailed, accurate and well-structured to withstand legal scrutiny; Courtroom experience: familiarity with procedures, confidence in presenting). Claim time spent doing this under learning sessions.
  • Participate in face-to-face or virtual small group learning which may include teaching or learning a new skill relevant to your medico-legal practice, and which has an interactive and/or hands on component. Claim this under short format learning.
The college welcomes suggestions on additional resources and topics for CPD on undertaking medico-legal work.

ANZCA & FPM resources

External resources

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